What are dough conditioners?
Dough conditioners are specialized food additives used in commercial baking to strengthen gluten structure, improve dough handling properties, accelerate fermentation, and enhance the volume, texture, and shelf life of bread and other baked goods. Common dough conditioners include DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides), sodium stearoyl lactylate, azodicarbonamide, ascorbic acid, potassium bromate, and calcium peroxide. In the NOVA food classification system, dough conditioners are considered characteristic of ultra-processed foods, as they enable high-speed commercial bakeries to produce consistent results at industrial scale that differ from traditional bread-making methods.
1,425 products in our database contain dough conditioners. 1,235 of them (87%) are Level 4, the most processed of our four levels.
Which foods contain dough conditioners?
Dough conditioners are found in commercial bread, hamburger buns, hot dog rolls, tortillas, pizza dough, bagels, English muffins, dinner rolls, croissants, frozen dough products, breadsticks, and most mass-produced baked goods sold in grocery stores and fast food restaurants.
Kaiser Rolls, Kaiser
Pita Bread
Kroger, Garlic 3-Cheese Texas Toast
Petite Butter Croissants, Petite Butter
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Butter Croissants, Butter
Cobblestone Bread Co, White Sub Rolls
Artisan French Bread, Artisan
Pretzel Sandwich Buns, Pretzel
Meijer
Enriched Sliced Hero Rolls
Flour Tortillas, Flour
Rancho San Miguel
Cherry Pie, Cherry
Bakery Fresh Goodness
Vegetable Sushi with Avocado, Carrot, Cucumber & Red Pepper Roll, Vegetable with Avocado, Carrot, Cucumber & Red Pepper
Bento Express
Pepperoni Duo Melted Mozzarella Cheese Layered with Slices and Chunks of Pepperoni Stone Baked Flatbread, Pepperoni
Whole Wheat Pocket Pita, Whole Wheat
Everything Pre-Sliced Bagels, Everything
Kroger
Quaker Harina Preparada White Flour Tortilla Mix 4 Pound Paper Bag
Nickles, Country Style 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Whole Wheat Smart Bagel
Ultra Thin Crust Margherita Olive Oil Based Sauce Topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses, Vine Ripened Tomatoes and Basil Pizza
Cinnamon Raisin Larger Bakery Style Bagels
Onion Larger Bakery Style Bagels
Eggroll Wrappers
Friedas
Cheese Thin Crust Pizza, Cheese
Great Value
Plain Pre-Sliced Bagels, Plain
Smart Way
Not Mayo Original Plant-Based Dressing & Spread, Not Mayo Original
The Kraft Heinz Notco
Peanut Butter Filled Mini Pretzels, Peanut Butter
Good & Gather
Frozen Malawah
Tnuva
Original Plant Based Dressing & Spread, Original
Notco
100% Whole Wheat Pre-Sliced Bagels, 100% Whole Wheat
Kroger
Thin & Crispy Pizza Crust Mix
Great Value
Sourdough Baguettes
Round Bread
Minardi
Traditional Cuban - Styled Bread, Traditional
Hermanos Bakery
Phyllo Dough
Market Basket
Roundy's, Honey Wheat Braids Pretzels
Phyllo Pastry Sheets
1001 Delights
Plain Mix, Plain
O Bagel
Pizza Crust Yeast
Also known as
Dough Conditioners can appear in ingredient lists under several names. If you see any of the following, this is the ingredient family you are looking at:
Function
Dough conditioners modify gluten proteins and dough rheology to optimize baking performance in commercial settings. Oxidizing agents like ascorbic acid and azodicarbonamide strengthen the gluten network by promoting disulfide bond formation, resulting in better gas retention and higher loaf volume. Emulsifying dough conditioners like DATEM and SSL (sodium stearoyl lactylate) interact with gluten and starch to improve crumb softness and extend shelf life. Reducing agents relax tight doughs for easier machine processing. Together, these ingredients compensate for variations in flour quality and enable consistent, rapid production.
Sources
Dough conditioners are produced through various industrial chemical and enzymatic processes. DATEM is manufactured by reacting mono- and diglycerides with diacetyltartaric anhydride. Sodium stearoyl lactylate is produced from stearic acid and lactic acid. Azodicarbonamide is synthesized from urea and hydrazine. Ascorbic acid used as a dough conditioner is the same vitamin C produced through industrial fermentation. Calcium peroxide is produced by reacting calcium hydroxide with hydrogen peroxide. Enzyme-based dough conditioners are produced through microbial fermentation.
Health considerations
Dough conditioners have varying regulatory status internationally. Azodicarbonamide is permitted in the US at up to 45 ppm but is not approved for food use in the EU, UK, or Australia. Potassium bromate is permitted in the US but is not approved in the EU, Canada, Brazil, and several other countries — California requires specific labeling on products containing it. DATEM and SSL have FDA GRAS status. These regulatory differences reflect varying risk assessments by different agencies.
This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.
Regulatory
Dough conditioners are regulated as food additives by the FDA with specific permitted uses and maximum levels in baked goods. International regulatory status varies significantly — azodicarbonamide and potassium bromate are examples of ingredients permitted in some countries but not others. All dough conditioners used in the US must be declared on ingredient labels. The EU maintains separate approved lists with E-number designations.